The Nobody Inn
it claimed it was a non-smoking unit
but it reeked of stale smoke and there were
cigarette burns in the bedding and the refrigerator
was about a meter from the bed
and there was a towel in the freezer
and a toaster and coffee pot were on top
of the water boiler and there was a hat
wedged behind the tv and the toilet seat
was cracked and someone had left infection
ointment in the vanity and given the number
of bugs and other hungry organisms
in the room you got the impression
the owner of the hotel was a believer
in the sanctity of life
he was a little old indian man
a kind old man with the most elegant hands you’ve
ever seen but when I called him to complain
the phone just kept ringing
and ringing so eventually I gave up
and had a little whisky
and watched bonanza
then lay down
on top of the mattress and slept
with all my clothes on.
©2024 M.P. Powers All rights reserved.
M.P. Powers is a Floridian living in Berlin, Germany. He is the author of The Initiate (Anxiety Press, Fall, 2023) and Strange Instruments (Forthcoming ’25). Recent publications include the Columbia Review, Black Stone/White Stone, Stone Circle Review, miniMag, and others. His artwork can be found on Twitter and Instagram @mppowers1132